An ancient land of contrast and extreme, Australia is blessed with some
of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on earth. From the abundant life
of the Great Barrier Reef and tropical rainforests to the stark beauty of the
oldest ranges and rivers on earth, it is home to unique plants and animals isolated
on this island continent for millennia.

In Australia Reef, Rainforest, Red Heart renowned wildlife photographer
Darren Jew takes you on a stunning visual journey. Over 120 full-color photographs
will transport you through deserts, forests and reefs, and bring you face to
face with Australia's unique wildlife.

Inspired by his father's travels in Antarctica to pursue a career in nature
photography, Australian wildlife photographer Darren Jew has photographed much
of the world's great wildlife and landscapes, from Alaska to Africa. Darren
spent eight years as photographer for the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife
Service. Based in Brisbane, Darren's work is published widely in magazines,
books, posters and cards. Soft cover, 160 pages. Published in 1998.

Australia is a land full of surprises and contrasts with countless unforgettable
adventures to offer visitors. In over 200 captivating photographs, Australia
Treasure Island highlights the diversity of this fascinating continent.
Exploring some of the country's most popular tourist regions, Australia Treasure
Island includes images of Kakadu, where rocky cliffs form the world's oldest
canvas and depict stories reflecting the Aboriginal Dreamtime; Australia's national
capital, Canberra, where valuable art of a different kind is displayed, and
a hot-air balloon ride over Lake Burley Griffin at Dawn presents the charms
of this showpiece city; spectacular coastal vistas such as the awe-inspiring
Twelve Apostles and the tranquil, seductive White Haven Beach; as well as the
country's unique wildlife - koalas, kangaroos and the less-seen thorny devils
and quokkas. Australia Treasure Island combines all of these images -
the rugged red center, sparkling cities, captivating islands, mysterious caves,
and the dazzling underwater gardens of the Great Barrier Reef - with informative
text to present the natural beauty and grandeur of this vast and ancient land.

Joel Nathan established his career as a successful creative director in
an advertising agency. It was an interest in photography and travel that led
him to write articles for newspapers, specialist journals, travel magazines
and airline periodicals. Joel now writes full-time on subjects as diverse as
natural science and history, as well as developing scripts for film and television.

Shaen Adey is a wildlife and environmental photographer with a passionate
interest in nature conservation. Her most recent photographic assignments have
led to extensive travel throughout Australia, capturing the diversity of its
landscapes, people and wildlife on film. In addition, she has been commissioned
to provide the photography for various works on South Africa and Singapore.
Shaen is the winner of several awards and her work has been published internationally.
Hard cover and oversized, 144 pages. Published in 1997.

The whole of Balmain, near Sydney, Australia, was once sold for five shillings;
in the early days kangaroo hunts ended at Long Nose Point at Birchgrove; in the
middle of modern Glebe is a Chinese joss house; and Annandale was the estate of
First Fleet Mariner George Johnston, who lived at Annandale House with his mistress
Esther Abrahams.

These suburbs are fascinating areas to explore. Discover their history in a series
of leisurely walks that reveal points of interest, the architecture of public
buildings, and the history of churches and houses.

Each walk has an easy-to-follow map. A series of profiles outlines the achievements
and life stories of notable residents, and a time line allows you to place each
suburb’s history in the context of national and international events. Soft cover,
120 pages.

You are cordially invited to spend an unforgettable evening in an Australian
Country Inn. This handsome traveler's companion includes a glossary of Australian
terms, description of each state, general directory of properties, and detailed
information with over 150 illustrations to complement each B&B reviewed.

Victorian Guest Houses

World-Class Country Estates

Historic Homesteads

Luxury Island Resorts

And many more to CHOOSE FROM:

'1 commend the amount of research that has obviously gone into a book of
such caliber- I am sure readers won't be disappointed' -Julie Averay, The Americas,
South Australia .

"Australia's best B&B's are featured in this indispensable guide
with personal reviews, illustrations and booking details~ -New South Wales News

Authors Jane Schonberger and George Morency are Los Angeles-based writers/producers
who have traveled extensively, particularly around the Pacific Rim. They penned
Bed & Breakfast Australia's Best after six months of criss-crossing
the continent and staying in over 200 B&Bs. With the growth of tourism Down
Under and the increase in the number of Bed & Breakfasts, Schonberger and
Morency take some of the guesswork out of choosing an appropriate establishment
All of the properties included in this guide are personal recommendations, and
the authors guarantee that travelers will make at least one new Aussie "mate."
Soft cover, 319 pages. Published in 2000.

Boomerang Road is the thoughtful, humorous and anecdote packed
account from Quentin van Marle, a middle-aged British journalist who makes
a 4000 kilometre
trek by mountain bike from the vast cattle stations of Australia's far north,
all the way south to Melbourne. To fill his weekly slot on BBC Radio 5 Live,
the author pedals off the tourist map and encounters a colourful assortment
of characters who inhabit today's small town Australia. Among them are bush
pilots, cattlemen, and crocodile hunters; oddball hotel owners, bartenders,
drinkers, and gamblers; outback musicians, dreamers and lost souls.

Illustrated with wonderfully evocative drawings, the book is liberally
sprinkled with flashbacks to a previous time - when as a 16 year old, the
author sailed
12,000 miles from home to become a teenage jackaroo on an Australian cattle
station. Four decades on, he arrives back at that same station astride a bicycle,
pedalling into some alarming deja-vu. More disturbing was his return to a tiny
Queensland trawler port where he receives a jolting reminder of a previous
and very human error of judgement.

Like the return flight of a boomerang, by the time he completes his trip,
the narrator has come full-circle in a working life that began on a 1960s cattle
station and which has taken him to all parts of the world since as a journalisty,
yachtsman, and travel writer. With all its rattling skeletons and hard boiled
one-liners, Boomerang Road is not just another travelogue. It is the
result of one man's observation of the faults, absurdities, and sometimes idiotic
values
of the human condition. Soft cover, 232 pages. Published in 2004.

This handy size map is fully laminated and folds easily - even guys can
do it. The laminations mean you can make notes on it with water based inks and
wash them off later. Seven different maps give coverage to all the hot spots
and a map of the Suburban and Urban rail/road netowrk is also given.

This Insight Pocket Guide includes a pullout map of Brisbane and the
Gold Coast. It is the guide that answers the questions you'd ask a friend who
lived in Brisbane. Which places are really worth seeing? What excursions
shouldn't be missed? Where are the great places tourists haven't yet discovered?
Written by a local host, it is based on intimate knowledge of the city and the
surrounding area. Everything you need is in this pocket guide.

Australia is a country of wide open spaces and much of it is accessible on foot.
If you want to go hiking in Australia then this Lonely Planet Guide is highly
recommended. There are full track notes for 35 walks together with advice on
planning, equipment and accommodation options. Sections on flora and fauna add
to the value of this guide but I’d check out Australia’s nature section for
more comprehensive books to supplement this one. Soft cover, 353 pages.

(12k)

Cold Beer and Crocodiles; a Bicycle Journey into Australia
by Roff Smith. Published by National Geographic. ISBN 0792263650. Recommended
retail price $14.

American Roff Smith had been living in Australia for 15 years when he pared
his life to what could be carried on a touring bike and pedaled off on a 10,000
mile odyssey around the continent. "I wasn't particularly fit,," he
admits early on, "I wasn't all that young, and for a six-foot-tall journalist
I tipped the scales at a much-too-comfortable 14 stone (196 pounds). I had never
traveled in the outback - nor, for that matter, had I ever strayed too far out
of the suburbs. Everything I knew about what lay beyond that sea of red-tiled
roofs could be chiseled on an aspirin tablet."

The outcome is Cold Beer and Crocodiles - a gritty yet vivid immersion
in Australia's cattle stations, mining towns, aboriginal communities, rain forests,
and above all its arid, blistering deserts, where midday temperatures soar to
130 degrees and the endless miles leave the author exhausted, out of water,
and all but dead. There are narrow escapes along the way, wild tropical storms,
a grisly bike crash, and in-depth encounters with the men and women who call
Australia home.

"Fresh, crisp, and insightful." - Publishers Weekly

"Smith's exposure to wind, heat, rain and tough terrain makes him appreciate
early chronicler Henry Lawson's description: 'There are no mountains in the
outback, only ridges on the floor of hell.'" - Sandra White, The Independent
(London).

Cycle the best of Australia, with 31 tours along great beaches, across the high
country and through quiet country towns. Find a tour to suit you: explore Sydney's
famous harbour; enjoy a few days of wineries and B&Bs; or spend a month riding
through beautiful Tasmania.

¨ 139
days of Australia's best riding¨ 139 detailed
maps¨ East Coast
Ride - Melbourne to the Gold Coast in 31 days¨ Where
to stay - quiet camping, cosy B&Bs or comfortable hotels¨ Where
to eat, for cyclists on every budget¨ What to
see and do, in and out of the saddle¨ Maintenance
tips and bike shop contacts

What better way to stretch one’s mind and one’s legs than by walking the suburbs,
particularly Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Discover the gracious mansions of Double
Bay, Paddington’s one-humble workmen’s cottages, and Potts Point’s naval establishment.
Take a leisurely stroll around Woollahra or Watson’s Bay.

Or you could venture to Cascade Street in Paddington which commemorates the
cascades at Glenmore Falls which Robert Cooper used for his gin distillery;
travel out to Vaucluse House where in 1831 William Charles Wentworth entertained
‘upward of 4,000 persons… with piles of loaves and casks of Cooper’s gin’ to
celebrate the departure of his hated rival, Governor Ralph Darling.

The easy-to-follow maps, the anecdotes, and the profiles of some of the area’s
more notable residents will amuse and entertain as you come face to face with
Sydney’s diversity and history. Soft cover, 128 pages.

(55k)

Explore Queensland: Over 70 Tours of the Sunshine State by Bruce
Elder. Published by New Holland Publishers. ISBN 1864362006. Recommended retail
price $29.95.

Queensland's fame for diversity is clearly evident in its range of landscapes:
the impenetrable rainforest of Cape York and the endless plains of the outback;
the ribbon of high-rise apartments along the Gold Coast and the sleepy towns
of Thargomindah and Quilpie; the unspoiled beauty of the Great Barrier Reed
off Cairns and the Whitsunday Islands; and the bustling urban sprawls of Brisbane,
Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns.

The aim of this book is to provide travelers in Queensland with a rich cross-section
of tours. While the vast majority of these journeys can be done on good sealed
roads in a conventional vehicle, there are many which require specialist forms
of transportation. In the case of Fraser Island, for example, the two journeys
most commonly available from the marina at Hervey Bay and the ecotourism-orientated
Kingfisher Bay Resort are discussed. In the case of the cruises to the Outer
Reef at Cairns-Port Douglas and in the Whitsundays, journeys made by the author
with commercial operators are described. There are also other operators working
in these popular destinations and the reader should not assume that these journeys
are the only ones available.

This book comes with complete with all of the following:

Comprehensive step-by-step tours

Clear and concise route directions

Detailed, easy-to-follow maps

Distance and climate charts

Informative fact panels

Soft cover, 176 pages. Published in 1997.

(53k)

Explore Wilderness Australia; Over 80 ecotours across the Australian
continent by Neil Hermes. Published by New Holland Publishers, 1997.
ISBN 1864362243. Recommended retail price $29.95.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's natural wonders, a stunning
ocean wonderful of bright corals, exotic marine life and dotted with idyllic
tropical islands (I am so glad I didn't write this). Whatever your budget or
the activities you want to enjoy - diving, snorkelling, hiking or just lying
on a beach - this comprehensive guide will help you find you own tropical paradise.

24-page full colour marine life section

48 maps, including all the resort islands

where to stay - from the best resorts to camping on your own tropical
island

detailed guide to diving, snorkelling, and all the other reef activites

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the planet's best known and best-loved natural
wonders which is recognized by its World Heritage status. But there is no single
Great Barrier Reef; larger than Great Britain and half the size of Texas, it
defies easy categorization.

Alison Cotes's Great Barrier Reef is a look beyond the biology. The text
deals with the history, geography and biology of the entire area and does so
in a very readable and accessible text. Needless to say the book is profusely
illustrated with the work of some of Australia's best photographers. If you
are heading out to visit the Banana Benders (Queenslanders) this is the ideal
pre-trip coffee table book, particularly if your interests include some of the
above water things this region has to offer.

I have a few minor biological quibbles: echinoderms are defined as "starfish,
jellyfish and sea urchins" but generally the biology is accurate and up to date
and the photographs are stunning. Highly recommended. Hard cover, 160 pages.
Published 1998.